This excerpt is from a work in progress that doesn’t actually have a
name! I should get on that. The planet Jaqaja has just set down upon does have
a name, however. The human settlers call it "Tenai", which means “yonder” in
Lithuanian.
Tenai is a colonized planet, far from Earth. It was settled in the year
2150 by an individual exiled from Earth for dabbling in prohibited forms of
embryonic genetic manipulation. Seven hundred years later, Tenai is home to a
population of millions, many of whom exhibit talents that make them more than
human.
Jaq doesn’t know it, but she has more in common with these advanced
humans than she could possibly guess.
**********
THE TWO MOONS appeared to insect one another, though
Jaqaja knew the overlap was a vast shadow. From the planet surface, the haze of
atmosphere added to the illusion, and if she let her underlids close it seemed
one moon prepared to absorb the other. She wondered if such tales were told
their children—if the inhabitants of W-78-KGB2 spun stories about omnivorous,
celestial bodies. All sentient species told tales, did they not? Even if only
to share history with their young.
Jaq turned away from the sky and adjusted the visor of
her helmet to let in more light. The reflected glow of the dual moons rendered
the planet surface grey. Light and shadow were starkly defined. Pinpoints of
color flashed dully in the periphery of her vision: sidelined readouts and
warnings. Jaq pulled one forward.
“Two hours,” she muttered before nudging the digits
back to the side with a flick of her eyes. In two hours, her body chemistry
would have adjusted to the planet’s atmosphere. Until then, she would remain
suited.
Though eager to dispense with her armoured skin, Jaq
tended to be cautious—a trait admired by the Xoupian. Caution, consideration,
forethought, analysis. New phenomena could be examined quickly when required,
but only if the correct thought formula existed. Until then, life was a process
of sampling and testing. Jaq would spend two local years in the supposedly
remote wilderness of W-78-KGB2 creating new formulas, ones that could not be
learned at home. The experience would prepare her for adulthood, serve as her
contribution to the Archive.
“Kay-Gee,” she murmured, testing out names for the
planet that could be spoken aloud. W-78-KGB2 as a thought accessed all
available data, but Jaq liked to speak—at trait not so admired by the Xoupian.
Why make unnecessary sound?
“Bee-Two.” Another murmur of quiet defiance.
To her ears, the words were utterly foreign. She spoke
the tongue of the planet’s inhabitants. The humans. They were noisy beings,
always speaking, yelling and singing. Jaq looked forward to observing the range
of sound. The patterns of thought she recorded from those observations, from
anything related to the humans, would not be part of her contribution. Keeping
them separate would be another test, one she hoped to pass.
But first she had to establish a base.
Jaq turned back to the small, snub nosed vessel behind
her. The hatch opened at a thought and ramp extruded from the lowest edge, down
to the pebbly shore of the lake she had chosen as a landing site. Had the angle
been more acute, the metal slats would turn to form steps rather than a smooth
path. She could feel the clank of her boots as she ascended, and the slight
give of the flexible surface. Another adjustment to her helmet allowed ambient sound.
A roar filled ears more used to the quiet hum of the interior of her craft, her
own movement and quiet mutters.
She dropped to her knees and turned a slow circle, the
articulated joints of her suit allowing smooth movement. Around her, water rippled
and sparkled. Ashore, the trees swayed in violent motions. Long, slender trunks
stretched toward the violet sky. The far off canopy rustled and she recognized
the movement of distant leaves as a part of the roar. Then she figured it out,
the sound. It was wind. A movement of air.
The air on this planet roared like nothing she had
ever heard before.
**********
If aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite
having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will pack her
precious books into a box and carry them with her as she strives to survive.
It’s what bibliophiles do.
Until then, you can visit her website at http://kellyjensenwrites.com or find
her on Twitter at @kmkjensen where she’ll most likely be tweeting about the upcoming
release of Skip Trace, the third book
of Chaos Station, a male/male science fiction romance series she co-authors
with her best friend and writing partner, Jenn Burke.
Skip Trace is coming October 5!
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